jfarkinB:iheartscotch: / last time this happenes the amateur weather spotters actually caused more damage then the twister

Man, it must suck when the spotters come through and then there's a twister, too. Must be a lot worse than either one alone.

/I know, still not as bad as when the grammar Nazis come through

I know your laughing, but the SCARIEST thing I have ever EVER seen in regards to severe weather was last February/March when the tornadoes came through Kentucky, and I was less than a THREE MILES from where I was living at the time.. and I saw a news crew on the corner.. and there was Jim Cantore.

I'm not kidding either. I've seen things while storm chasing that would make any sane person crap themselves in horror, but seeing Jim Cantore in the same zip code as my mail box scared the hell out of me in a way I can not describe.

UnspokenVoice:Great Porn Dragon: (Bangladesh, in case you're curious, is about the only place in the world that has the level of tornadogenesis that exists in the Tornado Alleys in the US.

My bathroom reading is, as of late, an older (2001) Guinness Book of World Records. I was surprised to read that the UK has the most tornadoes per year per square mile. I was quite surprised by this as one seldom hears about them coming from the UK so I went online and that appears to be factually correct. Ah well, I figured I'd mention it as an interesting aside.

2xhelix:God-is-a-Taco: Oh now I see, my local station "news on six" online just uses a OKC feed. Odd.

Tulsa 6 and OKC 9 are sister stations. The big advantage is that they each have a chopper to chase with, so they pool coverage for twice the punch. You'll notice in the chopper feeds that one has a big 6 on the side and the other has a 9.

ArgusRun:spidermilk: meyerkev: aevorea: "Let's move out to the Midwest," the boyfriend says. "Tornadoes aren't that bad," he says.

Yeah. F*ck that noise.

You've got to put it in perspective.

Tornados wipe out EVERYTHING in their path which is about 1 half mile wide and 10 miles long.Hurricanes wipe out EVERYTHING in the state of New Jersey (or Florida or the Carolinas, etc).Earthquakes wipe out EVERYTHING within N miles of their epicenter (and occasionally trigger tsunamis which wipe out entire COUNTRIES on the other side of the ocean).Floods wipe out EVERYTHING that's within their floodplain which can be miles wide and hundreds or thousands of miles long.Every once in a while, a really, really, really bad thunderstorm will roll through and knock down some power lines, and drop a branch on some people's roofs.

The midwest has it pretty good as far as "OH SHIAT weather goes"

Exactly. I live in the midwest and to be frank, tornadoes are scary but a big blizzard that knocks out power or a heat wave where people lose power is far more deadly.

Only because of our density. Cram 7 million on an island a a few people will die if you have a light rain storm.

The difference is, if you are healthy and prepared, It's hard to die in a blizzard. Don't drive. Have food and water. Stay warm. Don't burn shiat inside to stay warm without proper ventilation.

But if a tornado decides to pick you up and dump your remains nd the remains of your house a half mile away, then there's nothing you can d.

So much this. I will take a blizzard over tornadoes any day of the week. If I am walking down the street during the middle of a blizzard I still stand a damned good chance of making it home alive. Hell, if I am walking in a blizzard chances are that I am already within walking distance of my home and barring some freak accident I will make it home alive. If I am walking down the street in the middle of a tornado, well, chances are I am not walking down the street any more.

ArgusRun:Most malls in tornado alley have shelters. Also, their construction is a little more substantial than your typical stick house or mobile home. Little to no windows, steel and concrete construction. A 30 year old Sears might be the best place to ride one of these out.

mr intrepid:I remember we were traveling across country and stopped in Kansas for the night. Eating dinner at a restaurant during a torrential downpour, we heard a tornado warning on the radio. Waitress told us to pay it no mind.A few minutes later, the wind kicked up and started going HORIZONTAL.